MUSIC STYLES OR GENRES

When a piece of music is given a category it is called a musical style or genre. The category to which a piece of music belongs to can be determined by many factors including:
· the instruments it uses,
· how it uses the elements of music like melody (tune), rhythm or harmony (Chords)
· what social or cultural elements have influenced it
· it’s country of origin
· the context in which it is performed eg: pub, church
· it’s purpose or function
· performance techniques used

or a combination of the above and more.

POPULAR MUSIC STYLES are styles that are accessible to the general public and are usually disseminated by one or more of the mass media.

A FUSION STYLE OR GENRE is a music genre that combines two or more genres eg; Rock and Roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music

Here is a list of popular music styles:
Blues /Country/Hip Hop / Jazz/Folk/Electro pop /Latin Hip hop Motown/Teen pop /Techno / Disco / Emo /Gospel / Latin Jazz/Calypso /Swing/ Bebop/House /Christian hip hop
/Cool Jazz / Rap /Samba/Soul / R & B


YOUR TASKS:

INDIVIDUAL TASK A: Written report

Choose a style from the above list and complete the following research in written form (a minimum of 200 words). You can organise your information any way you wish and include pictures or audios also.

Use the chart below to work out what information you would like to include in your research paper, you also need to indicator what kind of research methods you need to use in order to conduct the research yourself.

Music Genre

Questions
(info)
Q 1
Q 2
Q 3
Q 4
Q 5
Q 6
Methods














Presentation
















Here are some sample questions for you to use in your research.

1. Describe the origins and background of this style….How did it come about? What country did it come from? About when did it originate?

2. What kinds of things influenced this style of music? Was it a fusion of two styles? If so what were some of the influences of both of those styles? Why did the two come together? Was it a particular person or event or ‘school of thought’ that influenced the style?

3. What instruments are generally featured in this style? How are they combined and what roles do they play in the group? (are vocals used to sing? Is it a drumming type of music with guitar in the background? Etc)

4. Describe some of the musical features or elements of this style? Eg: singable melodies, lots of yelling, powerchords and loud amplification, dance rhythms, close harmonies,

5. Name some performers and composers of this style (People who play and write music in this style) Name some of their songs / musical pieces.

You will have three single lessons during class time to complete your written report for submission. Save your report as a word document in a folder

Due Date:


TASK B: ORAL PRESENTATION IN GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALLY __

In groups of two to three (depending on the type of presentation) or individually, use part or all of your research to construct an oral (/visual) presentation of your chosen musical style. Your presentation should be between 2 – 4 minutes in length. Some presentation ideas include:

Powerpoint /interview with performer/role play about style
Musical performance/radio broadcast/pictures and oral talk
You will have 2 single lessons during class time for preparation.